Yummy, cheesy potato soup that's heavier on the veggies and lighter on the cheese than most potato cheese soups, but you wouldn't guess it.  The buttermilk accentuates the cheddar, and using sharp cheese make less cheese go further.  In the winter, I sometimes substitute winter squash like butternut for the yellow summer squash, and it's good, too.

Golden Cheddar Cheese Soup 

from Moosewood Cooks At Home

Minutes to Cook: 35

Number of Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 cup chopped onions
2 TBSP Vegetable oil
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 cups of vegetable stock or chicken broth (water's o.k. too)
1 cup buttermilk or milk
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt to taste

minced fresh scallions, chives, or parsley to garnish (optional)

Directions

Serves 4-6

Saute the onions in the oil for about 5 minutes or until they begin to soften. Stir in the potatoes, carrots, squash, black pepper, and turmeric. Add the stock or water and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the buttermilk or milk and the cheese. puree the soup in a blender or food processor or with a stick blender. Gently reheat. Add salt to taste, and serve topped with minced scallions, chives, or parsley.

Turkey Harvest Soup

I stumbled across this recipe in my files last week and wondered why I never think to make it.   It is kind of like a minestrone, but made with ground turkey.  It makes a delicious winter meal with breadsticks or some crusty bread.  Margie made it once when we got together for lunch, and it was so satisfying I had to get the recipe from her.

Turkey Harvest Soup

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning (I just threw in some marjoram, basil, and thyme)
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
3 large carrots, peeled and diced small
1 large potato, peeled and diced
6 cups beef broth
2 cups V8 or tomato juice
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup pastina or acini di pepe pasta
1 tsp. liquid hot pepper or a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes (opt.)
2 medium zucchini, diced (about 2 cups)

Brown turkey and onion in a little olive oil.  Stir in oregano and herb seasoning.  Stir in tomatoes, carrots, potato, broth, V* and Worcestershire.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the pasta, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove lid and add zucchini and hot pepper to taste.  Boil uncovered 8-10 minutes until zucchini is cooked.  Taste to adjust seasonings and serve.

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

I'm surprised that I haven't posted this recipe before now.  Amy gave it to me a few years ago (I think the original source was Food and Wine), and we have loved it ever since.  It is delicious, healthy, and easy.  It's a perfect soup to make in January because, well, it can help you get over the over-indulgences of December.  It's a good New Year's Resolution soup, because although it's over-the-top healthy, it can also be a comfort food.  Besides, it uses winter vegetables but still has bright colors so there's some color in your life even when it's snowy and grey outside.

Speaking of which, the longer this cold goes on, the more grateful I am that we have a small house and can afford to keep the heat turned up.  I'm ready for spring!

Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

 serves 6-8

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped fine

3/4 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers

3/4 lb. kale, tough stems removed and roughly chopped

1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 3/4 inch cubes

1 1/2 quart chicken or vegetable broth

1 tsp. salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

about 2 cups cooked brown rice (I like the texture of Lundberg Farms medium grain rice - it has a good chew)

Start cooking the rice if you don't have any leftovers on hand.  It will take longer than the rest of the soup to cook.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook down until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric and crushed red pepper flakes.  Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.

Add the sweet potato chunks and stir.  Add the chicken or vegetable broth and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Add the kale once the broth is simmering and submerge all the leaves, helping them to cook down, and stirring occasionally.  Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over a bed of brown rice.

note: when I made this last night, I cooked extra brown rice and used some of it to make a kind of Thai sticky rice with the extra coconut milk from the can.  I added the rest of the can of coconut milk, about 2 cups of brown rice, about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 c. sugar.  I wish I had measured so I could tell you exactly how much.  But you just stir it together, give it a taste to see if it needs more of anything, and it makes a lovely dessert, especially topped with fresh mango!  In fact, I even think I might like the texture better than traditional Thai coconut sticky rice.

Miso Soup

I originally found this recipe on steamykitchen.com and have really liked it.  It is super fast and easy, using an instant dashi instead of requiring that you make the dashi stock yourself from boiling seaweed and bonito flakes.  I've adapted the recipe by adding an extra cup of water, because I thought it was too strong and salty without.    This also makes it serve an extra person.  Taste your finished broth to see if it needs more water than that (it might, if it has simmered a while). I've used several different kinds of dried seaweed for garnish, and they've all been fine.  I made this for our New Year's Eve Sushi Party.  It's great to have such an easy side dish for something more difficult like sushi.  Just pop some edamame in the microwave for another easy side, and you've got yourself a feast.

Miso Soup Recipe

Ready in 10 minutes! Remember, you don’t want to boil the miso paste — add it at the end with the heat off to avoid a gritty texture.

serves 5
5 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules
1/2 cup miso paste
1 tablespoon dried seaweed (for miso soup), soaked in water
1/2 cup cubed tofu
2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1. Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the instant dashi and whisk to dissolve. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the tofu. Drain the seaweed and add the seaweed to the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes.

2. In the meatime, Spoon the miso paste into a bowl. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot dashi broth into a bowl and whisk with chopsticks or a whisk to mix and melt the miso paste so that it becomes a smooth mixture.

3. Turn the heat off, add the miso paste to the pot and stir well. Top with green onions and serve immediately.

Thai Roasted Butternut Soup

Today I cleaned out most of the rest of my vegetable garden.  I still have a basil, and few beets and carrots that just don't seem big enough to bother harvesting yet, as well as tiny kale, which will survive a freeze.  I picked armloads of chard, beets (with greens), and rhubarb.    We ate chard and onion tacos for dinner.  It's a beautiful fall day, which helps me be glad to be home again instead of visiting with family in California.

This is for my mom, whose beautiful California garden is overflowing right now with not only roses and guavas, but butternut squash, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass.  The original recipe doesn't call for the lime leaves and lemongrass, but this is how I would adapt the recipe to take advantage of them.  I plan to make this myself later this week with what I brought home from my visit.

Thai Roasted Butternut Soup

Adapted from "Can I Freeze It"
makes about 2 quarts

4 lbs butternut squash
2 Tbs. canola oil
2 Tbs. butter
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
4 Tbs. red curry paste
2 15 oz. cans unsweetened coconut milk
2 stalks lemongrass, cleaned, trimmed, and split lengthwise (opt)
4 kaffir lime leaves (opt)
4 limes (less if using lemongrass and lime leaves)
bean sprouts
fresh basil & cilantro to garnish

Preheat to 350.  Cut the butternut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  Place cut side down on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat.  Roast on rack in top third of oven for about 45 mins, or until very soft to the touch.  It should not brown on the cut surface; if needed, reduce temperature by 50 degrees.  Allow to cool slightly.

Heat oil in a skillet over low heat.  Add the butter and once foaming, add the onion and garlic and cook for 8 minutes or until soft but not browned.  Place the onion mixture and the squash in a blender and puree until smooth.  You  may need to add a little of the stock and process in two batches to help puree more efficiently.  Transfer the puree to a large pot and add the remaining stock.  Stir in the curry paste and coconut milk and toss in the lemongrass and lime leaves.  Bring to a boil and cook for 10 min. Salt to taste.  Add freshly squeezed lime juice to taste, and garnish with bean sprouts, fresh basil, and cilantro (all are optional). You can also garnish with a little finely julienned kaffir lime leaves (cut out the central rib first).

This soup freezes wonderfully, so feel free to double it.  You can also make a plain butternut soup by stopping before you add the curry paste and later ingredients, just adding salt and pepper to taste and simmering 5 min and serving swirled with creme fraiche in each bowl.

I hope you like it as much as we do!

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Ground Pork and Zucchini

We are excited this year to finally have something coming out of our garden, even if it is mostly zucchini so far.  We put mesh over the entire garden to keep the animals out, and it has made a huge difference in spite of the 3 times that groundhogs have made their way in.  The deer keep the plants trimmed on the outside of the mesh, so we're reminded that we're glad they can't get in.  And in spite of a few tomatoes being eaten by chipmunks, we're pretty happy with the results. 

So we've been eating lots of yellow squash and zucchini out of the garden, and while we love it sauteed in a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with herbs de provence, salt & pepper, it gets a bit tiresome.  I've made zucchini cake, zucchini soup, crustless zucchini quiche, and zucchini muffins.  I've frozen it shredded to use later and I've stirred it into my yeast bread.

Yesterday we had this new Asian noodle dish from Fine Cooking, which disguises the squash very well - they become kind of like noodles themselves in the peanut sauce.  After I dumped the shredded yellow squash and zucchini in the bowl (it calls for 2 large ones!), Z thought that it was going to be way too much and we wouldn't have enough noodles, but we agreed they kind of disappeared.  I didn't have the jalapeno and substituted srirachi to taste.  I think it would be good with chicken or tofu instead of the ground pork, but that was good, too.  Also, I found that since the zucchini lets out a lot of moisture, the sauce was too runny, so I removed the 3 Tbs. water from the original recipe.

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Ground Pork and Shredded Vegetables

Grated carrots, squash, and chopped mint balance the spicy heat of the jalapeños. For a milder dish, use only 1 chile and remove its seeds and ribs—they’re hotter than the flesh itself.

Serves 4

adapted from the recipe by Liz Pearson, from Fine Cooking Issue 110

• 1/2 lb. dried 1/4-inch-wide rice noodles (pad thai noodles)
• 1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
• 3/4 lb. lean ground pork
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, preferably natural
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1-1/2 Tbs. fish sauce
• 1 or 2 jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped (seeded, if desired) or sriracha sauce
• 2 medium carrots (about 6 oz.), grated
• 2 large yellow squash or zucchini (about 1 lb.), grated
• 2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint (reserve 2 Tbs. to garnish)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (opt.)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (opt)
• Lime wedges, for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, stirring often, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water; leave to drain in a colander.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tsp. of the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and ½ tsp. salt and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until just cooked through, 4 to 8 minutes; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the peanut butter, vinegar, fish sauce, and the remaining 1 tsp. sesame oil until smooth. Add the drained noodles, pork, jalapeños, carrots, squash, and all the herbs but 2 Tbs. of the mint and toss gently. Garnish with the remaining mint, and serve at room temperature with the lime wedges on the side.

nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 620; Fat (g): 29; Fat Calories (kcal): 260; Saturated Fat (g): 6; Protein (g): 26; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 6; Carbohydrates (g): 65; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 3; Sodium (mg): 1000; Cholesterol (mg): 50; Fiber (g): 5;

Photo: Scott Phillips

Spicy Peanut Noodles fine cooking recipe link

Andes Chocolate Creme de Menthe Cookies

For your consideration in your Christmas baking - I can't decide whether these or the orange chocolate chip cookies are my all-time favorites.  I also made almond macaroons and cranberry streusel shortbread cookies, which were both very good, but not an epiphany.

This one's for Eileen, who insisted I post this on my blog.  These are a dark chocolate cookie with Andes chocolate mints in them.  They're kind of like thin mint cookies, but better because they're crispy and chewy.  I wish I could remember where I got the recipe.  It has been too long.  Originally, I was making a chocolate cookie and adding the andes mints, but I think perhaps I got this off the package.

Andes Chocolate Creme de Menthe Cookies

1/2 c. salted butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. flour

1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 c. cocoa powder (special dark cocoa makes for dramatically dark color)

1 package (10 oz) Andes creme de menthe baking chips

Blend butter and sugars until fluffy, then mix in vanilla and eggs.  Sift dry ingredients together, then stir them into the butter mixture.  Stir in the mints.  Shape in 1 oz. balls (I use a small cookie dough scoop).  Bake at 350 for 8-10  min.  Makes about 3 dozen.